A line of thunderstorms moved in through out the evening. The tv shows kept being interrupted with more warnings. There wasn't a good place to keep Myrtle and I ended up locking her to a tree in front of the hotel. I wasn't so happy with this arrangement and woke up a few times in the night worried that someone would cut the tree down to steal Myrtle. Sometimes my imagination really does get the best of me.

In the morning more severe thunderstorm warnings delayed my departure. Myrtle was safe and sound locked to the tree. I moved her under the carport so she wouldn't get any wetter. As I was packing I looked up and there were Amish buggies going by. I got my camera and started snapping shots. The Amish don't like their picture taken but sometimes I just have to get a picture. I was far enough away they may not have noticed. Once I got going they were staring at me as much as I was staring at them. I felt like this gave me permission to take a few more shots. When am I going to be through here again? Coming into downtown Seymour I saw more and more buggies. There were a few buggies tethered in front of the bank. The men went into the bank leaving a woman alone on one of the buggies. I rode over and struck up a conversation. The Amish seem like such a secret society I was nervous asking the woman questions. She was very shy and timid but then started asking me questions about Myrtle and travel. My first Amish encounter. I made sure to end the conversation before the men returned.

As I was leaving town another buggy with a younger man was waiting to cross Hwy 60. I stopped knowing horses don't like trikes. If I had continued and the buggy turned on Hwy 60 he would have needed to pass me. This could have been an uncomfortable situation especially since I'm so low to the ground. The buggy crossed Hwy 60 and stopped. The guy wanted to talk. How cool! We talked about the area and he had been to Oregon on vacation last summer. I should have asked him how he got to Oregon. Do the Amish fly? I know they don't drive but maybe they can take motorized travel. He thought Myrtle was really cool.

I continued on Hwy 60. The shoulder was really beat up from all the buggies. I was sharing the shoulder with a lot of horse poop too. This truly was an obstacle course. The last thing I needed was to have horse poop sticking to my trike tires. A few miles later the shoulder improved and was smooth again.

The skies were overcast but it was warm. As the day wore on it got warmer and the temperature rose into the 80's. The rest of the way was through small towns and rich, green farm land. At one point I came upon a huge, old, snapping turtle attempting to cross the road. Usually all I have to do is park the trike next to a turtle and it turns around. Not this guy. I got up and approached the turtle from behind wanting to pick it up. Just as I started to lift it its head flung up and almost bit my face. I couldn't believe how fast this happened. Ok - so I won't pick it up. Then I tried to get the turtle to snap at my trike flag thinking I could fling it into the grass. This didn't work either. I tried blowing my whistle but it must have been deaf because there was no reaction. This went on for so long I, eventually, had to give up. Sometimes turtles just aren't meant to be rescued.

The route had shallow rollers but was essentially downhill for 33 miles. Very nice!! As I approached Springfield I turned off Hwy 60 onto farm roads that had some gorgeous estates. This was the only area of the day that had significant hills. It was a very beautiful neighborhood and I welcomed getting onto quieter roads. I was passed by only 1 car for many miles. It was easy finding the Motel 6 and I got checked in for $42. This is a good motel at such a reasonable price that I booked 3 nights. I'm ready for a rest and Springfield should be worth exploring.